Der Anaesthesist
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In recent years the number of interdisciplinary emergency departments (ED) at hospitals in Germany has increased. The model of decentralized first contact units for each medical discipline has been abandoned, last but not least due to economic considerations. While decentralized units could be staffed with personnel from each discipline there is much controversy surrounding the question of which kind of doctor is best suited for a centralized ED. ⋯ The smooth operation of centralized EDs is therefore important. Therefore, taking into account economical aspects, qualification and number of available personnel, this article introduces a staffing concept as a rational basis for an optimized patient management in centralized EDs in Germany. Taking the patient characteristics, the specific treatment modalities and the number of admissions to the ED into account, this paper will determine treatment time per patient and the necessary number of physicians, as well as an optimized staffing model for EDs.
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Transplantation medicine is an interdisciplinary task and the priority objective is a fast recovery to patient independence. After kidney transplantation the crucial aims are monitoring of transplant perfusion, maintainance of an adequate volume status and avoidance of nephrotoxic medications. Transplantation for patients with advanced chronic liver failure has become more common since the implementation of the model of end stage liver disease (MELD) allocation system which is associated with more complicated proceedings. ⋯ Postoperatively a specific cardiac support with pulmonary arterial dilatators and inotropics is usually necessary. Lung transplantation aims at an improvement of patient quality of life. Postoperative critical care should provide a limitation of the pulmonary arterial pressure, avoidance of volume overload and rapid weaning from the respirator.
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Continuous wound infusion of local anesthetics, which is mainly used in general surgery and orthopedics, is an interesting technique in postoperative pain therapy. Continuous wound infusion of local anesthetics is able to reduce postoperative opioid requirements and results in decreased pain scores. ⋯ Continuous wound infusion is an effective analgesic technique, which is simple to perform. Comparisons with other analgesic techniques, such as peripheral nerve blocks, epidural analgesia and other multimodal analgesic concepts are still required.